HISTORY
A shipwreck, some pigs & a flower show
W
hen, on January 6,
1778, the 738 ton
English East
Indiaman Colebrooke loaded
a cargo destined for the Far
East at Blackwall on the River
Thames in London's East
India Docks, she set in
motion a train of events that
How an ancient shipwreck became the focus
of an award-winning flower exhibit and,
possibly, gave its name to a breed of SA pig
possibly leads to a South
African “indigenous” pig
breed and definitely to an
international flower show.
Under the command of Capt
18th Century shipping in Table Bay. It was common practice then for ships
to avoid the Cape winter storms by sailing on and entering False Bay.
Arthur Morris, the Colebrooke
moved down the Thames to
Gravesend to complete
loading, setting sail with a
ship's complement of 212 in
the company of a small fleet
of Far East-bound ships in
early February.
Calling at Madeira, she
loaded wine and stores, and it
is unclear whether it was
here, rather than at
Gravesend, that she took on
board a consignment of
porkers. What is clear,
however, is that they were
probably intended for use as
ship's victuals rather than for
sale in the Far East, as the
trade in pigs in those days was
still largely in the other
direction, ie, Far East to
17
www.sasmallholder.co.za
Europe.
Finally, on 26 May, she and
her small accompanying fleet
set sail southwards, arriving off
the Cape of Storms three
months later, in late August.
Mindful of the nor'westerly
gales that often decimated
shipping in Table Bay in
winter, Capt Morris decided
rather to call at Simonstown
in False Bay to revictual. This
was common practice at the
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